An apparatus may contain an embedded controller or agent software to monitor and control its operation. Any type of apparatus may have an embedded controller or agent including, but not limited to, home appliances, office equipment, medical devices, and industrial tools. Other examples include robots, blood analyzers, multifunction copiers, and air conditioners.
Embedded controllers, also referred to as “embedded devices”, are often connected to an internal network, such as a local area network (LAN), wireless IEEE (Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers) 802.11, or HomePlug powerline, with an interface to the Internet. One type of interface to the Internet is a network gateway (or simply “gateway”).
A gateway is a software system (which may be installed on a stand-alone device) for interfacing devices near the gateway to remote, centralized services. A gateway acts as the interface between proximity local area protocols and wide area protocols, such as TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) on the Internet. A gateway also manages its client devices, aggregates their data, and performs other related tasks.
Ideally, a gateway should not require manual configuration. In practice, however, a gateway is general purpose and may encounter many different kinds of devices. Similarly, devices on the local network may change configurations. This flexibility means that a gateway cannot be pre-configured to handle all possible devices. The management of gateways and their devices becomes the responsibility of a central server.